Rasassination [Explicit Lyrics]

Vibe
...Ras hasn't abandoned his trademark philosophical dissertations. [His] lyrics are forced to carry the entire weight of his album While beasts by Stu-B-Doo (Dr. Dre's understudy) are consistent (at best), they still fail to match Ras's verbal intensity.

Rasassination,Ras Kass,Priority Records,Hip-Hop,Pop,Rap & Hip-Hop

Average customer rating: Not as good as ice Is he still nice? Failure To Launch {3 Stars} Still Solid Great Lyrics, Great Potential, But Also A Possible Failure (3.5 stars)

Rasassination Ras Kass Manufacturer: Priority Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music West Coast | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Pop Rap | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music Similar Items: Institutionalized Revenge of the Spit Ras Kass Presents: Re-Up Eat or Die Here to Save You All ASIN: B00000AGMC Release Date: 1998-09-22

Tracks:

1. Endtro
2. Rasassination
3. Ghetto Fabulous
4. Lapdance
5. Skit #1
6. Conceited Bastard
7. Ice Age
8. ...In A Coogi Sweatsuit (Skit)
9. H2O Proof
10. It Is What It Is
11. Interveiw With A Vampire
12. Wild Pitch
13. OohWee!
14. All or Nuthin'
15. Grindin'
16. I Ain't Fuckin' With You
17. Get At Me
18. The End

Customer Reviews:

Not as good as ice.......2007-06-03

First let me say that Ras kass's "rasassination" is tight but some songs like ghetto fabolous and grindin and lapdance are little commericial and i wasn feelin it at all...But his other songs mosdef make up for it. Specialy rasassination. Still recomended.

Is he still nice?.......2006-09-19

Yes. I am giving this 5 stars because for being more of a commercial release it still lyrical. It surely has its moments that remind you on how good his first is. My only complaint is some of the production drops the ball, but were that lacks his lyrics are enough to save this record at the end of the day. PEACE!

Failure To Launch {3 Stars}.......2006-09-18

I'm not sure how many people remember when this album dropped, but this was the album that was supposed to launch Ras Kass' career into the same stratosphere as the likes of Jay Z, Big, Pac, and Snoop as far as record sales and spins are concerned. It's pretty much evident with the big name guests (Twista, Dr. Dre, Mack 10, RZA, etc..), big name producers (Dre, Jazzy Pha, etc..), and unnecessary/awful skits. In other words, this album was supposed to make Ras a star. What hurts a lot of the album is the amount of filler and crossover tracks. Joints like "Lapdance", "All Or Nuthin", and the Jazzy Pha produced "It Is What It Is" only serve to alienate the heads that ran out and bought Soul On Ice without hesitation. As if that wasn't bad enough, joints like "Oohwee", "Grindin", and "Conceited B*stard" should've never seen the light of day. We all know Ras Kass can spit with the best, which he does on this LP, but a lot of the production is limp, hollow, and lazy.

There are some dope cuts sprinkled throughout the album though. The title track (Rasassination), "Wild Pitch" (which the underrated Xzibit absolutely kills), and "H2O Proof" are perfect examples of what Ras Kass can do when his mind is right, the versatile "The End" features The RZA, and I still like "Ghetto Fabulous" eight years after its release. Another good, yet strange, track is "Interview With A Vampire" which revisits his earlier classic "Nature Of The Threat" and has some strange credits on it (God & Satan?).

Rasassination isn't necessarily a bad album, but hold on to your money if you're expecting Soul On Ice II. You won't find that here. In 1998 Ras Kass aimed for the stars, missed his mark, and alienated his fan base with this album. To be honest, with label and legal issues, I don't think his career has recovered from this album yet. There are some gems, but nothing that would justify buying this brand new. I can only recommend buying this if you can find it used.

Standout Tracks: The End feat. The RZA, Interview With A Vampire feat. God & Satan, Rasassanation, H2O Proof feat. Saafir, Wild Pitch feat. Xzibit & Jah Skillz (My Favorite), and Ghetto Fabulous feat. Dr. Dre & Mack 10

Still Solid.......2006-08-12

Even thou this isn't as good as SOUL ON ICE, it still blows away most of the music out there, even today! It has some dope tracks, GHETTO FABULOUS, H20 PROOF, INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE which is a crazy song similar to NATURE OF THE THREAT on SOUL ON ICE. He also has a colab with TWISTA, which I thought was interesting. The production on this is good, not real great, but good. Lyrics are on point, of course. If you have to chance to get this, grab it, it's out of print and rare. So you might have to pay a good price for it, but you also might find a deal on it. Either way, cop it, get some of the real hip hop going again.

Great Lyrics, Great Potential, But Also A Possible Failure (3.5 stars).......2006-07-25

There is no doubt that Ras Kass is a talented lyricist, that has ever gotten on the mic. After releasing Soul On Ice in 1996, he decides to make a sophomore effort Rasassination in 1998.

His previous album used a lot of dark and eerie beats, to match his rhymes. This time he hooks up with more up beat producers to bring an upbeat tempo to his album. The Dr. Dre produced "Ghetto Fabulous" that features him and Mack 10 is one of the better songs on the album. "Wild Pitch" is another up beat song as Ras Kass hooks up with good friend Xzibit and Jah Skillz from Da Five Footaz, that makes it a good track. Ras Kass also proves that he can carry a few tracks by himself to show off his lyrical skills. One of my favorite solo tracks is "Waterproof" as Ras Kass rips the track and Saafir ad-libs urging him to rhyme even harder. "OohWee!" was probably a club banger back in '98, because of it's somewhat dance type beat. Before Jazze Pha became a popular producer, he sings the hook to "It Is What It Is" as Ras Kass spits all three verses.

Although Rasassination had its high points, there are some points where it faults...horribly. Once again, wack beats (mostly by Stu-B-Doo and Kiev) causes the album's concept to fail. And the sad thing about it, is that most of the tracks had so much lyrical potential. "All Or Nothing" featuring Twista, would fall into this category, as Ras Kass spits some good punchlines, "...you're comming up short, like a million midgets masterbating...". It hurts to learn that the RZA didn't produce the final track "The End" even though he appears on it (and the ending dialogue outro on that track was a good one, to close out the album). Another track to fall into this category is "Interview With The Vampire" as Ras Kass converses with God and Satan. Could have used a better beat in my opinion. I don't know why Ras Kass chooses such horrible beats (Soul On Ice had the same problem), forcing himself to carry the weight on almost the entire album. Hell, at one point in the album he says to someone he doesn't care about beats...keep thinking that and his albums will suffer the same fault every time. "Lapdance" and "Conceited Bastard" would also fall under skip material, because of their horrible beat. And the lyrically horrible track "Ice Age" featuring Kurupt and El-Drex doesn't make the situation any better. And I've gotten a little tired of the No Limit/Master P references.

Lisening to this album, I'm pretty sure that it could have been much better in my opinion. I'm reading the 4.5 & 5 star reviews, and wonder what in the world makes them think that this album is ranked that high? It had such good potential, and I seriously thought the concept was good. Even the skits were humorous, but it also suffers. So it wouldn't suprise me if I receive a lot of unhelpful votes on this review because I gave it less than 4 stars. I'm a fan of Ras Kass' work, but I'm also objective enough to realize that one or two songs doesn't necessarly make it a 5 star album (see Soul On Ice for an example). Basically what I'm saying is that you can be a waterproof emcee all you want to, but if you do not (I repeat) if you DO NOT have the correct beats on your album, people will question it!! Don't believe me, Canibus' debut album "Can-I-Bus" came out around the same time this album did, and they're both in the same boat.

Lyrics: A
Production: C-
Guest Appearances: B-

Favorite Tracks: Rasassination, Ghetto Fabulous, Waterproof, It Is What It Is, Wild Pitch, OohWee!, I Ain't F'in With You.

Dance Music:

1. Recipe [Clean]
2. Reunited [CD-single] [Import]
3. Sabotage/Get It Together [EP] [CD-single]
4. Scraper Muzic
5. Shoot Pass Slam [CD-single]
6. Slam: The Soundtrack [Edited Version] [Soundtrack] [Clean]
7. Somethin' Serious
8. Static-Ones Represent. [Explicit Lyrics]
9. Still Scandalous [Explicit Lyrics]
10. That's My Mic [Explicit Lyrics]

Dance Music

dance music

Dance Music

Popular Music popular_music_05

Monteverdi: First Book of Madrigals

Lovely Weekend

Gone, Just Like a Train

Albion Pt.1 [CD-single] [Import]

Music of the Year: 1956 [Import]

Oliver! (Deluxe Edition) (1963 Original Broadway Cast) [CAST RECORDING] [Original recording remastered]

Masters of the Opera, Vol. 10: 1932-1843

Life Is Slow Motion [Import]

Masters, Monsters & Mazes

Outlandos d'Amour [SACD]

Jawhook

Latin Music: 14 Cumbiazos

Jenny Wheeler

Ultra-Lounge, Vol. 5: Wild Cool & Swingin